Berg Water Quality

I am a firm believer in the general good quality of the Berg's water. However, I don't doubt that there is some form of contamination in places. I've also noticed that hikers far too readily take the quality of the water for granted simply because "it's in the Berg". The Mnweni is a good example where extra care should be taken about where you drink from, but even in other parts of the Berg I exercise the same caution. Always think about what has happened upstream of where you are filling up. And on the escarpment, look for the lowest density of cow poop in the general area of rivers before you fill up.

I have had one case on a Grand Traverse where someone got a form of Foot and Mouth, which was diagnosed and treated by a doctor afterwards. Apparently you can just as easily get it from touching contaminated grass though, so it's not definite he picked it up from the water. Have also had cases where people got diarrhoea, also during Grand Traverses. However, its very hard to tell where it may have originated from unless you do stool samples, so again, its not definite these cases where from contaminated water, though its probable.

The amount of smuggler traffic does concern me too in terms of water contamination, and I really hope the Berg continues to stay free from Giardia.